Lovely one : a memoir / Ketanji Brown Jackson.

By:

Jackson, Ketanji Brown, 1970- [author.]

Material type: Text

text
still image

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9780593729908
0593729900

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

DDC classification:

347.73/2634 B 23/eng/20240819

LOC classification:

KF8745.J25 A3 2024

Contents:

Preface: A sacred trust -- Part one: Bringing the gifts. The dream -- Black studies -- No place like home -- The deep end -- Warrior hearts -- Mighty spirit striving -- Force of nature -- The secret -- Beloved community -- In circle square -- Our people -- A more perfect union -- Love changes everything -- Part two: Grit and grace. A year like no other -- African homecoming -- The culture of big law -- What is justice? -- Call of duty -- Parenthood -- The bench -- Life support -- From Leila's lips (to God's ears) -- America the beautiful -- We are the dream -- Epilogue: Lovely life -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Photograph credits.

Summary: "With this unflinching account, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson invites readers into her life and world, tracing her family's ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America's highest court within the span of one generation. Named 'Ketanji Onyika,' meaning 'Lovely One,' based on a suggestion from her aunt, a Peace Corps worker stationed in West Africa, Justice Jackson learned from her educator parents to take pride in her heritage since birth. She describes her resolve as a young girl to honor this legacy and realize her dreams: from hearing stories of her grandparents and parents breaking barriers in the segregated South, to honing her voice in high school as an oratory champion and student body president, to graduating magna cum laude from Harvard, where she performed in musical theater and improv and participated in pivotal student organizations. Here, Justice Jackson pulls back the curtain, marrying the public record of her life with what is less known. She reveals what it takes to advance in the legal profession when most people in power don't look like you, and to reconcile a demanding career with the joys and sacrifices of marriage and motherhood. Through trials and triumphs, Justice Jackson's journey will resonate with dreamers everywhere, especially those who nourish outsized ambitions and refuse to be turned aside. This moving, openhearted tale will spread hope for a more just world, for generations to come"-- Provided by publisher.

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	New Books	347.732634 JAC	Available		36748002567925

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In her "vulnerable, tender, and infinitely inspirational" ( Oprah Daily ) memoir, the first Black woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States chronicles her extraordinary life story.

"A billowingly triumphant American tale."-- The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

With this unflinching account, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson invites readers into her life and world, tracing her family's ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America's highest court within the span of one generation.

Named "Ketanji Onyika," meaning "Lovely One," based on a suggestion from her aunt, a Peace Corps worker stationed in West Africa, Justice Jackson learned from her educator parents to take pride in her heritage since birth. She describes her resolve as a young girl to honor this legacy and realize her dreams: from hearing stories of her grandparents and parents breaking barriers in the segregated South, to honing her voice in high school as an oratory champion and student body president, to graduating magna cum laude from Harvard, where she performed in musical theater and improv and participated in pivotal student organizations.

Here, Justice Jackson pulls back the curtain, marrying the public record of her life with what is less known. She reveals what it takes to advance in the legal profession when most people in power don't look like you, and to reconcile a demanding career with the joys and sacrifices of marriage and motherhood.

Through trials and triumphs, Justice Jackson's journey will resonate with dreamers everywhere, especially those who nourish outsized ambitions and refuse to be turned aside. This moving, openhearted tale will spread hope for a more just world, for generations to come.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 391-405).

"With this unflinching account, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson invites readers into her life and world, tracing her family's ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America's highest court within the span of one generation. Named 'Ketanji Onyika,' meaning 'Lovely One,' based on a suggestion from her aunt, a Peace Corps worker stationed in West Africa, Justice Jackson learned from her educator parents to take pride in her heritage since birth. She describes her resolve as a young girl to honor this legacy and realize her dreams: from hearing stories of her grandparents and parents breaking barriers in the segregated South, to honing her voice in high school as an oratory champion and student body president, to graduating magna cum laude from Harvard, where she performed in musical theater and improv and participated in pivotal student organizations. Here, Justice Jackson pulls back the curtain, marrying the public record of her life with what is less known. She reveals what it takes to advance in the legal profession when most people in power don't look like you, and to reconcile a demanding career with the joys and sacrifices of marriage and motherhood. Through trials and triumphs, Justice Jackson's journey will resonate with dreamers everywhere, especially those who nourish outsized ambitions and refuse to be turned aside. This moving, openhearted tale will spread hope for a more just world, for generations to come"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Preface: A Sacred Trust (xiii)
Part 1 Bringing the Gifts
Chapter 1 The Dream (3)
Chapter 2 Black Studies (20)
Chapter 3 No Place Like Home (31)
Chapter 4 The Deep End (42)
Chapter 5 Warrior Hearts (59)
Chapter 6 Mighty Spirit Striving (69)
Chapter 7 Force of Nature (85)
Chapter 8 The Secret (104)
Chapter 9 Beloved Community (122)
Chapter 10 In Circle Square (141)
Chapter 11 Our People (153)
Chapter 12 A More Perfect Union (165)
Chapter 13 Love Changes Everything (183)
Chapter 14 In Full Sail (202)
Part 2 Grit and Grace
Chapter 15 A Year Like No Other (219)
Chapter 16 African Homecoming (228)
Chapter 17 The Culture of Big Law (239)
Chapter 18 What Is Justice? (258)
Chapter 19 Call of Duty (271)
Chapter 20 Parenthood (291)
Chapter 21 The Bench (311)
Chapter 22 Life Support (331)
Chapter 23 From Leilas Lips (to Gods Ears) (344)
Chapter 24 America the Beautiful (354)
Chapter 25 We Are the Dream (362)
Epilogue: Lovely Life (381)
Acknowledgments (387)
Notes (391)
Photograph Credits (407)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Jackson's debut memoir traces her family's rise from the era of segregation to her appointment to the court. She writes about how the women in her life influenced her--her grandmother, grounded by her spiritual and religious center, and her mother, who encouraged her to aim high. Jackson's intellectual gifts and connections to social and political movers and shakers from Boston to Washington, DC, gave her priceless opportunities. Even so, Jackson's life has not been easy, as she's encountered gender and racial prejudice and has had to balance marriage and family with the considerable demands of her work. While working throughout her pregnancy, taking only a brief maternity leave, raising two daughters, and paying for childcare, she's achieved remarkable personal and professional success, and she's done it with grace and good humor. Jackson reads her memoir clearly and with feeling; her training in public speaking serves her well and makes for an engaging listen. The book includes wonderful audio excerpts from her own speeches and clips from both daughters. VERDICT Listeners will be charmed and uplifted by this deeply personable and warmhearted account.--Joanna M. Burkhardt

Kirkus Book Review

The first Black female Supreme Court justice shares her story. At first blush, the title of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Jackson's memoir may seem like an exercise in extreme solipsism. But as every review and article and interview about this book will point out, the title is the English translation of the author's first and middle names, Ketanji Onyika. That is merely the first captivating thing readers will learn about Jackson, who by any objective measure is one of the most interesting people to serve as a Supreme Court justice.Relatable is perhaps not an adjective one would associate with someone who not only is a member of the nation's highest tribunal but also holds undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard, clerked for the man whom she would replace on the court, and performed as an improv comedian. But it fits, and Jackson is deftly equal to the task she set before herself in writing with candor about her ambition and inspirations, work-life balance (she is married to a surgeon who happens to be a descendant of a delegate to the Continental Congress), and perseverance in ignoring naysayers. Jackson's memoir will inevitably be compared to books written by her colleagues on the court. It might not have the gripping narrative of Clarence Thomas'My Grandfather's Son, but it is far more dynamic than the prose of Sonia Sotomayor'sMy Beloved World. Since everything in contemporary American life is politicized, the right may automatically dismiss Jackson's memoir as DEI dreck from an activist judge, while those on the left may hail it as the greatest autobiography by an American public figure since Ulysses S. Grant's. Neither is correct. What Jackson offers, however, is a well-written, intriguing, and quintessentially American story about a fascinating woman who is truly the embodiment of what is possible in the United States because of its freedoms and in spite of its flaws--lovely indeed. A terrific memoir. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.